Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Streets update

Lord Greenhalgh: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Robert Jenrick) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:I am today informing the House that I have laid a statutory instrument that will extend the moratorium on commercial landlords’ right to forfeit a lease due to the non-payment of rent to the end of the year.The moratorium was established via Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and was due to expire on 30 September. It has now been extended by three months and will expire on 31 December 2020. This extension will help provide businesses and employees with certainty and protect vital jobs, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors.This is being accompanied by an amendment to Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery measures led by the Ministry of Justice. Accompanying restrictions on the service of statutory demands and winding-up petitions, implemented through the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, are currently in place until 30 September, and we are working closely across Government to consider a similar extension to these.Since March, Government has implemented a range of measures to support commercial property tenants and landlords. The objective of these measures was to preserve tenants’ businesses through the Covid-19 lockdown and to give time and space to landlords and tenants to agree reasonable adjustments to rent and lease terms, including terms for the payment of accumulated rent arrears.This is a temporary measure being extended; however government recognises that it cannot go on indefinitely. We recognise the impact that this extension has on landlords, therefore we expect both sides of the sector to use this time to negotiate and government will intervene further if necessary.This extension will provide the businesses with certainty as they scale up their recovery from Covid-19 and will ensure that sectors most acutely impacted by the closure of non-essential retail can benefit from the Christmas trading period.This is not a rent holiday. Government is clear that landlords and tenants should be coming together to negotiate in good faith where a tenant is unable to pay in full, using the principles set out in the voluntary Code of Practice we published in June which recommends that those tenants who can pay should do so while those landlords who are able to grant concessions should do so. This Code of Practice and approach was supported by a wide range of sector bodies representing tenants and landlords.England, Northern Ireland and Wales are covered by the protection from forfeiture in the Coronavirus Act. Section 82 relates to England and Wales, and the Welsh Government have already laid a statutory instrument to extend the measures for an additional three months. Section 83 relates to Northern Ireland, who are currently considering a similar extension. The Scottish Government passed separate emergency legislation to implement similar measures.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus Update

Lord Bethell: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock) has made the following written statement:I want to update on the latest local restrictions. The latest evidence indicates that the Covid-19 infection rate is beginning to rise across the country. It is therefore now vitally important that Government takes decisive action to limit any further spread and reduce the likelihood of a further national lockdown of the type that was necessary earlier this year. We will continue to review the restrictions to ease or strengthen measures when necessary and based on the scientific evidence.Changes to Leicester restrictionsFurther changes are also being made to the Leicester restrictions. As of Tuesday 15 August, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020 were amended to enable the opening of casinos, indoor skating rinks, bowling alleys, indoor play areas, exhibition halls and conference centres. Socially distanced indoor performances were also able to resume, and remaining restrictions on certain close contact services (treatments on the face, such as eyebrow threading or make-up application) were lifted. These changes meant that Leicester is subject to the same business restrictions as the majority of England and guidance was updated accordinglyThe ban on inter-household gatherings in private homes and gardens remain in place to control the spread of the virus.The government will continue to review the remaining restrictions in Leicester at least every 14 days, with the next review due to take place before 24 September.Additional restrictions in BirminghamIn the West Midlands, the increase in Covid-19 infection rates can be seen particularly in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell, where incidence rates and positivity rates have increased significantly. Transmission appears to be associated with household transmission, travel hospitality venues and other social mixing. Given the broad transmission routes, we have considered and agreed the request of local authorities to restrict household mixing to try and curb the spread of the virus in the Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell areas of the West Midlands. Restrictions on households mixing within private homes and gardens was enacted in secondary legislation and came into effect on Tuesday 15 September. Residents in these areas should not socialise with people that they do not live with, either inside or outside. This was taken in consultation with local leaders, who are working hard to keep the transmission rates down.Publicly available Government guidance on Gov.uk is being updated to ensure it fully corresponds with the new Regulations. Sector bodies will also produce updated guidance where relevant.